The Bruins come in at just No. 19 in the rankings. For what it’s worth, fellow NHL powers Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Washington, Pittsburgh and San Jose all rank below the Bruins. And the Florida Panthers, who’ve reached the playoffs three times in their history, rank No. 1. Any hockey list that puts the Panthers No. 1 that doesn’t have to do with the attractiveness of the team’s dance squad really can’t be taken too seriously.

As we saw last month at the Bruins’ development camp, Boston is loaded for years to come. And Seguin, Steven Kampfer and Jordan Caron are all on the cusp of making an impact despite a little NHL experience they gained last year. I won’t hold my breath waiting for the Panthers (or Ottawa or Edmonton, No. 2 and 3, respectively) to win the Stanley Cup before the Bruins win their next one, or any of the above-mentioned perennially strong teams lift the Cup.

If you want to put any legitimacy in this list, you can at least get a laugh at the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs ranking No. 22. Are they ever going to turn things around?

It’s like bizarro world hockey. In order to come in at no. 1 the team must tank more than anyone else on a consistent basis. This line in particular made me laugh:

“Stocking up on top picks year after year pays dividends. For evidence, look no further than the Oilers’ roster, which includes Taylor Hall (first overall, 2010), Magnus Paajarvi (10th overall, 2009), and Jordan Eberle (22nd overall, 2008). ”

Evidence of what?? Paying dividends how? Not to say these guys won’t help, but the only dividend I see so far is the chance to pick first yet again… and thereby hold their spot near the “top” of ESPN’s ranking.

Matt, I hear you…as opposed to how he looked after the B’s won that series and went on to Win the Cup! That’s the, “if, shoulda, coulda” dialogue we’ve heard from many hab, Bolt, and ‘Nuck fans and their writers.

This is a very odd list due to the methodology. The author doesn’t try to qualify any of the prospects he simply added them up. So, a team with 3 or 4 high ceiling prospects will likely come in behind a team with no real top prospects but with more numbers.

The other major flaw is that under achievers are counted i.e. Zach Hamel while players such as Seguin, Marchand, McQuaid, Caron ect. aren’t because of their NHL experience.

George,
That was Hockey prospectus, who only does hockey, and I think it was #9. Either way, much deeper than ESPN gives us credit for. To be fair, I check ESPN for breaking trades and the like, and for ridiculous stories. It’s really hard to take their writers and analysts seriously. I’m also pretty sure FLA is not the most talented team on the farm in the NHL, and given his method of rating, ESPN must have a crap database.

I never follow ESPN for hockey related information, especially because you would have to pay to look at this list of teams who have had high draft picks in recent years. I believe MattK posted a link that had the Bruins at #7 in organizational depth?

Bruins at 19 is a joke on all kinds of levels. Florida has good prospects on paper but in four years those players will have to be traded because they need to be in a hockey market to succeed. Florida is the step between the AHL and NHL, they groom the talent for Hockey markets to trade for. Boumeester, Horton, Campbell